


Camping Traditions/Shadows

by TeraKaren



Category: Batman (Comics)
Genre: Bat Family, Gen, Preboot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-09
Updated: 2016-03-08
Packaged: 2018-05-25 15:55:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6201574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TeraKaren/pseuds/TeraKaren
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two Drabbles: The boys continue a traditional contest of the Bat Family "camping" trip/Dick fakes his death and two weeks later Batman finds him (Preboot)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Camping Traditions

**Author's Note:**

> This is an old drabble prompted to me. Promt: "Dick grows a beard"

“You look ridiculous Grayson.”

Dick scratched his chin under a good inch of dark, coarse hair, a slightly irritated look on his face.

“Say what you will, Little D, but if Ra’s and Bruce are anything to go by, in a few years you’ll look like a mountain man after a week of survival training.”

Dirt fell from Damian’s tattered shirt when he crossed his arms and glared at his brother.

“You’re just angry that you lost your ridiculous little contest with Todd.”

“Not my fault Jay is half Yeti,” he glowered, whacking the man next to him on the chest with the back of his hand. Jason gave him a hard shove back before running his hands down his freshly shaven face. His cocky smile just made Dick glower at him more.

“Jealous that you’re not the best at something, Goldie?"

"I’m still not sure it really counts as a contest if it doesn’t require any skill,” Tim said, busy picking off tiny cameras and the occasional feather from his person.

“Agreed,” said Damian to everybody’s surprise, “Nevertheless, I will surpass you all in beard growing next time we have one of these vacations-”

“Vacation?”

“-and you will all have to wear your unruly facial hair until we arrive home. Well, except Drake, whose lesser genetics are not suitable for this endeavor.”

Tim’s ears turned red, but his indignation was cut short as they all looked up to see the approaching jet.

The jet landed in the barren stretch of land and a man in a waistcoat came out of the side door and lowered steps leading into the plane.

“Well at least you all made it on time this go around,” Alfred said, scrunching up his nose as the boys came near enough to smell. They all gathered their meager belongings and walked toward the plane. Tim was the first to enter, eagerly taking the phone from the butler’s outstretched hand.

“Thank you Alfred, did you bring a computer? I need to look over the logs I created during this trip,” Tim said not looking up from the screen of the mobile device, stylus in hand.

“In the left, front seat along with the notes from this week’s meetings and messages from your secretary. Heaven forbid you’d want to relax after a week in the wild, Master Timothy.”

Tim smiled sheepishly at Alfred before putting his phone to his ear and talking to someone on the other end in a clipped, professional tone.

“How was your first ‘camping’ trip Master Damian?”

“Hardly a challenge for me, Pennyworth,” Damian responded with complete bravado.

“Oh, I’m sure. Master Jason.”

“Alfred,” Jason greeted shortly before seating himself in a back seat corner.

“Master Richard, I was under the impression that you were training your survival skills, not training to be the headmaster of Hogwarts.”

“Haha Alfred. Let’s just get back to Gotham as soon as possible. This thing itches,” Dick said scratching his cheek.

“Right away. And if we’re lucky some miracle soap will be able to rid you all of the smell.”

“We missed you too Alfred. Let’s go home.”

The jet lifted off and flew them all toward Gotham.


	2. Shadows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Batman finds Dick two weeks after he faked his death.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another old drabble fic. Promt: "Dick fakes his death. Batman figures it out after two weeks (I know, slow going). How does that reunion go?"  
> This is preboot, written before the Grayson comic debacle.

Dick was a creature of the shadows. He was acutely aware of the dimming darkness under and above and in the corner of things, was able to spill into it, letting it stain him like black ink in water. So when he felt the shadows close in on him, filling the room with presence that they hadn’t previously held, he knew. It had only been a matter of time.

“Two weeks. You must be losing your touch.”

His bodyguard was knocked out on the floor and Batman stood before him. The two of them stared at each other for a moment, still against the falling dust in the lamp light. Dick shifted slightly in his computer chair.

“There are no cameras in here,” Dick informed him. There weren’t. He’d found out why when his handler left him handcuffed in the room with a man that unzipped his fly and told him to suck. The result of that incident had ended badly for the handler and allowed Dick to claim the camera-less room as his own. Such was dealing with sex-traffickers.

Bruce didn’t say anything to the added information, not that Dick expected him to. He frowned, feeling anxious and angry at himself for dreading Bruce’s disapproval, but Batman still said nothing.

“Look, I’m sorry I…disappeared, but it was needed for this undercover job for BPD, and I wasn’t allowed to tell anyone. Company rules. You of all people should know the importance of keeping a secret between as few people as possible.”

“Why are you after Violeta Perez?”

Dick grimaced. Leave it to Bruce to get straight to the real reason he had taken this assignment. World’s Greatest Detective indeed. He should get him a mug.

“There’s nobody named Violeta in the Company,” he said stubbornly.

“Dick…”

“Look B, I’m not looking for your approval, so-” he said stepping up closer into Batman’s space and meeting his gaze with assurance, “you’ll just have to trust me on this one.”

A corner of Batman’s mouth tightened, which told Dick that Bruce would never truly leave this alone, but his stance relaxed an iota which told Dick that he would only be doing so from afar.

“Alright, just-” Batman said, reaching out a gloved hand as if losing a battle with himself to keep it at his side. It briefly lingered on his bicep when Batman turned away from him and headed back toward the shadows, cape brushing over Dick’s toes.

Suddenly Dick reached out for the cape, a shadow painting him in half. Batman stopped, but didn’t turn toward him.

“Don’t tell them,” Dick murmured, not looking up from his fist in the heavy fabric.

“They’ll find you eventually.”

“I know,” Dick said taking that as a “yes” and letting go of the fabric. Batman got poised to leave but paused for a second and tilted his head slightly towards Dick.

“You made Barbara cry,” was all Batman said in a voice that was part Bruce and appealed rather strongly to his guilt. Dick glared at the empty shadows as they fell back into the places he couldn’t follow.


End file.
